Overview
- Speaking at the Academy and Chanel event in Los Angeles, Stewart warned the industry is in a "state of emergency" and condemned the "violence of silencing" that mutes women’s voices.
- She urged peers to reject tokenism and to "print our own currency," calling for solidarity and self-determination among women in film.
- Stewart anchored her critique in statistics, noting studies that place women at roughly 16% of directors on the top 250 releases of 2024, with trade reporting only a handful of studio films directed by women this year.
- Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter presented the Academy Gold Fellowship for Women to Alina Simone and Marlén Viñayo, underscoring mentorship and funding as practical remedies.
- Referencing her long-gestating directorial debut The Chronology of Water, which is due out next month after a Cannes premiere, she credited author Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir as a catalyst for her stance.